I Knew
by AMiserableLove
Summary: Jess and Nick share some ice cream in the late hours of the night. Takes place immediately after See Ya. Just a quick little one-shot.


**Just a quick something I wrote. More sweet then anything...kinda an extended scene for See Ya. I really am racking my brain and looking at some prompts to give you the big love scene/slightly more M story a few of you are looking for...  
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**Anywho please read and review :)  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own New Girl.  
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It was late.

She wasn't sure exactly what time it was. Without her glasses on or contacts in she could barely see the kitchen clock clear enough to make out the correct time. But the loft was silent and everyone was sleeping. She had ended her solo dance party hours ago, and after some gentle coaxing Neil had finally left the apartment.

All was right with the world.

Sitting at the kitchen table, she dipped her spoon into her Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia. She always had some stashed in the freezer for emergency purposes. A bad day at work, a bad break-up with a boyfriend, a bad fight with Nick.

Her mouth lifted into a smirk, thinking about him.

Sometimes those fights weren't as bad as she let on.

Sometimes those fights were actually kind of perfect.

Her smirk widened into a grin as she licked her spoon.

Sometimes she left ice cream in the freezer for good days too.

And today…or tonight…was definitely a good one.

He was back.

She didn't want to think too hard about how happy...how relieved she had been when she had seen him standing there across the hall, casually leaning against his doorway as if he had never left. She had almost lost control of her emotions and had barely been able to manage welcoming him back and calling him a clown for good measure before shutting the door and dancing out her feelings.

If she was being truly honest with herself she wasn't ready to delve any deeper into the crazy range of emotions she had been feeling since Nick had dropped the bomb shell on her that he was moving in with Caroline. And now that he was back…those emotions hadn't quietly faded. They were still buzzing around her. Only now, she wasn't as quick to try and squash them...she didn't mind so much that they were there.

She just wasn't ready to take that leap yet.

She hadn't necessarily accepted them or embraced them, but she was acknowledging them, and that was as far as she was willing to go.

For now.

"You still up?"

She jumped slightly at the sound of Nick's voice before turning her head to watch him walk into the kitchen and open a drawer. He pulled out a spoon before walking over to the kitchen table and taking the seat across from hers. Without him asking her to, she shoved her ice cream to the middle of the table, and smiled as he dipped his spoon into it and took a bite.

"I…couldn't sleep." She told him.

He nodded, taking another bite of ice cream. "Same here."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's not surprising…do you have any furniture in there?"

He shook his head, grinning. "Not a thing."

She rolled her eyes and dipped her spoon back into the ice cream. "Why don't you just sleep on the couch?"

He shrugged, staring at his spoon thoughtfully. "I thought Neil was still here."

She didn't say anything to that, and they sat in a comfortable silence. It was nice, it was something she knew that had he left, she would have missed terribly.

"I'm glad you didn't stay at Caroline's…that you came back." She said it suddenly, breaking the quiet, and she could feel a blush creep across her face as the words left her mouth.

He didn't say anything for a moment, before sticking his spoon in the ice cream and staring at her, his dark eyes appeared even darker in the dimly lit apartment. "Me too Jess."

He smiled at her, a real genuine smile. A smile that he didn't give too often, but when he did, his whole face lit up and his eyes became gentle. The overall softer, more approachable appearance it gave him was quite endearing.

She couldn't help herself from smiling back.

They sat there in the late hours of the night, not really saying much, just enjoying the other's quiet company. She was aware of the emotions still buzzing around her. The simple affection, the startling attraction…the promise of something more. And again, she didn't try to push them away she just noted that they were there, and decided to be okay with that realization. And as she stared at his ruggedly handsome features, she considered their relationship, and thought maybe, just maybe, someday soon she would be willing to act on these newly acknowledged feelings. Someday when they weren't fresh out of broken relationships, after they had helped each other grow into better people…maybe they could explore the possibility of something more.

Right now she was okay with this. With them simply offering each other friendship. It felt nice knowing that they were going to get through this time in their lives together; supporting each other, refusing to let the other think they 're alone.

They would be there for each other…always.

Together, they would quietly tell the voices in their heads to shut up.

Taking one last bite of ice cream, she stood up, offering him the remaining bit left in the container. When he refused it, she picked up their spoons and walked over to the sink washing them quickly, as he sat at the kitchen table, silently staring out the window, a look of serious concentration on his face.

"Well." She said drying her hands, and smirking as his gaze shot up to her, almost as if he had forgotten she was there. "I better go hit the sack."

He nodded and stood up, walking into the kitchen he stopped in front of her, staring down at her, he gave her his soft genuine smile. "Thanks for the ice cream."

She grinned. "Anytime."

And before she could think better of it she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. His arms came around her without hesitation and she closed her eyes briefly, allowing herself a moment to enjoy the simple feeling of being held by him. When she had indulged in the feeling for long enough, she stepped back and gave him a small smile. He was staring down at her, his dark eyes glimmering with something familiar, something she had seen quite often in her own eyes staring back at her in the mirror, when trying to figure out her feelings for him.

It was nice knowing that maybe he was on the same page as she.

"Good night." She said, her voice soft.

"Good night Jess."

As she turned to walk to her room, he stopped her, saying her name quietly. She turned back, tilting her head, watching him as he stared at the kitchen floor, a small smirk playing across his lips.

"I knew."

She raised a brow, curious. "Knew what?"

He looked up and his eyes were soft and somewhat amused, the smirk widened ever so slightly. "That you had your keys…that you never threw them."

She opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut again, not sure what to say. She knew she was blushing, her face felt hot.

She wasn't sure why she had pretended to throw her keys in the desert. She wasn't sure what she had been trying to accomplish. She had just panicked, not able to accept the fact that he was leaving. So she had done the first thing that had come to her mind and had pretended to throw them…effectively stranding them in the desert.

"Winston had been too busy freaking out…but I saw that you hadn't thrown them…that they were still in your hand." He was watching her closely.

"I…umm…" She didn't know what to say.

He held her gaze, his expression serious, but his dark eyes still soft. "Thank you."

Seeing that he meant it, that he wasn't angry with her, she smiled at him, relieved. "Anytime Nick."

"Good night Jess."

Feeling a bit dazed, she turned and walked into her room. Her mind was swirling with questions, mainly why he hadn't called her out on her fake key throw in the desert. But as she thought of the events of the previous night, she figured that he had been grateful for an excuse to stay there the night…to figure out the path he wanted to take.

Or maybe he had just been trying to save her from embarrassment.

She thought of what they had discussed when facing off with the coyote. How she had told him that she would be okay because she had met him, and how he had been concerned that he couldn't leave because she needed him too much. Neither of them was ready to take that next step yet. She knew that. But as she crawled into her bed, turned her lamp off and closed her eyes; feeling the events of the past day begin to take its toll on her, she smiled into the darkness.

Not yet...but someday soon.

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**Not planning on continuing this one. I'd rather just leave it at that...but I'd still appreciate your reviews.**

**As always thank you for reading! :)**


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